Pronghorn Antelope

Pronghorn are found in the Great Plains area and further west into the drier areas of North America. They are one of the fastest animals in North America. A newborn pronghorn can outrun a human after just a few days of birth. They can run more than 87 Kilometers (53 miles) an hour. They are also great distance runners; they can travel for miles at half that speed.

They have reddish brown hair, with white stomachs, wide white stripes on their throats and white rumps. Pronghorn are about 1 meter (3 feet) tall at the shoulders. When they are startled they raise the hair on their rump to display a white warning patch that can be seen for a great distance.

Both bucks and does have impressive backward-curving horns. The horns split toward the middle of their horns, forming prongs; this is where they get their name. Some have horns that are more than a 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) long. Pronghorn eat mostly grass, sagebrush and other plants. Pronghorn chew their cud, which is their own partially digested food, like other even-toed hoofed animals.

Pronghorn mate each fall. Bucks gather several females and protect them, sometimes battling rivals in dangerous fights. In the spring, does give birth to one or two young.